On his death in 2014, George Lucas left his diaries - spanning 60 years and pertaining not to his career as a civil servant but to his after-hours pursuits - to their editor.
The embodiment of mens sana in corpore sano rowed across the Channel, swam the Niagara basin twice and became an MP. He and his wife were intimate with the 'Souls'.
The product of many years' research, this is an amazing book that reconstructs the eleven 'Strand Palaces' which both gave rise to the distinctly English style that emerged in country houses... read more